Firearms in the family of rifles including an M-4, M-16, AR-15, and AR-10 have an upper assembly consisting of an upper receiver, a barrel mounted to the upper receiver, and a bolt carrier group and charging handle housed in the upper receiver. The upper assembly may carry iron sights, optics, hand grips, and other accessories.
The charging handle readies the firearm to fire a bullet. The charging handle reciprocates between a forward, ready condition and a retracted condition. When the charging handle is drawn back to the retracted position, the bolt carrier group is drawn into the buffer tube, and when the charging handle is released, the charging handle returns to the forward position, stripping and chambering a bullet in preparation for firing.
Various types of charging handles exist. Most of these charging handles are designed to be operated with a single hand. A latch on the charging handle must be pivoted so as to disengage the charging handle from the upper assembly so that the charging handle can be drawn back to the retracted position. Depressing the latch and retracting the charging handle is very difficult when an operator is wearing gloves or mittens. In some cases, an operator will not be able to use only his free hand to depress the latch and retract the charging handle, and will have to use his shooting hand as well, requiring him to take his finger off the trigger of the firearm. Further complicating operation, optics mounted to the upper receiver can be bulky, leaving little room for the operator to quickly find and depress the latch and retract the charging handle.
Still further, the latch presents a safety concern. A projection formed on the latch often catches on nearby gear or equipment, causing the latch to be inadvertently pivoted and the charging handle then retracted without the operator noticing. This can cause a bullet to be accidentally chambered presenting a serious safety hazard. If the operator does happen to notice the latch caught on gear, he must stop to free the caught latch, being careful not to cycle the charging handle. Pausing to do this at an inopportune time poses a danger to the operator and his fellow operators. All of these problems present time and safety hazards. An improved charging handle is needed.